The main muscle group listed for this exercise.
Incline Dumbbell Press
Incline Dumbbell Press is a beginner-friendly chest exercise performed with dumbbells. It also involves the shoulders and arms.
The equipment listed for this variation.
The recorded setup and movement complexity.
Chest
Incline Dumbbell Press also involves shoulders, arms.
Strength
Movement pattern: press. This is a compound exercise.
Beginner
This level reflects the setup and movement complexity recorded for this exercise.
How to do Incline Dumbbell Press
- Lie back on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand atop your thighs. The palms of your hands will be facing each other.
- Then, using your thighs to help push the dumbbells up, lift the dumbbells one at a time so that you can hold them at shoulder width.
- Once you have the dumbbells raised to shoulder width, rotate your wrists forward so that the palms of your hands are facing away from you. This will be your starting position.
- Be sure to keep full control of the dumbbells at all times. Then breathe out and push the dumbbells up with your chest.
- Lock your arms at the top, hold for a second, and then start slowly lowering the weight. Tip Ideally, lowering the weights should take about twice as long as raising them.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the dumbbells back on your thighs and then on the floor. This is the safest manner to release the dumbbells.
Workout templates that use this exercise.
If you want to see this movement inside a more complete training session, start here.
3-Day Full Body Split
A three-day split that spreads total weekly work across three full-body sessions.
View workout30-Minute Fat Loss Workout
A shorter full-body session designed to keep you moving and make consistency easier on busy days.
View workout4-Day Upper Lower Split
A simple four-day split that gives each half of the body two quality sessions each week.
View workoutMore exercises in the same lane.
Use these when you want a similar movement pattern, a different setup, or more exercise options for the same target area.
Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Press
Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Press is a beginner-friendly chest exercise performed with dumbbells. It also involves the shoulders and arms.
View exerciseBarbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip
Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip is a beginner-friendly chest exercise performed with a barbell. It also involves the shoulders and arms.
View exerciseIncline Cable Chest Press
Incline Cable Chest Press is a beginner-friendly chest exercise performed with a cable station. It also involves the shoulders and arms.
View exerciseNeck Press
Neck Press is an intermediate-level chest exercise performed with a barbell. It also involves the shoulders and arms.
View exerciseRelated calculators for this exercise.
Use these calculators when you want to connect the exercise itself to calories, protein, strength targets, or training volume.
Common questions about Incline Dumbbell Press.
What muscles does Incline Dumbbell Press work?
Incline Dumbbell Press primarily trains the chest and also involves the shoulders and arms.
Is Incline Dumbbell Press beginner-friendly?
Yes. It is listed as beginner-friendly.
What equipment do I need for Incline Dumbbell Press?
This variation uses dumbbells.
Track this exercise for free in Logbook.
Once the movement is in your plan, use Logbook to record sets, reps, load, and progress without guessing what happened last week.